LGBT Icon Will Horton Strangled, Fans Outraged On ‘Days Of Our Lives’

Will Horton came out of the closet on Days of Our Lives in 2011, and the character became the most famous gay character on a daytime soap opera. Fans knew Will Horton — he’d been on the show for 16 years before he officially came out, having first appeared on the show in 1995. Will Horton had the first gay kiss on Days, and the first gay wedding. Now he’s dead.

The Will Horton character was played by four actors over that period: Christopher Gerse, Dylan Patton, Chandler Massey and Guy Wilson. (Massey portrayed Will in 2011, when he came out.) Last week Days of Our Lives had Will Horton fall victim to the Necktie Strangler, a serial killer currently menacing the show. Fans were visibly upset on social media, with Mistress Euclid calling Will Horton a “beacon in the face of bullying and persecution.” Here are some of the fervent reactions to the strangling of Will Horton.

(SPOILER) It was very difficult to see the killing of Will on air. We all stood paralyzed and fixed on the screen… http://t.co/UAiNbzNw6V

Will Horton came out of the closet on Days of Our Lives in 2011, and the character became the most famous gay character on a daytime soap opera. Fans knew Will Horton — he’d been on the show for 16 years before he officially came out, having first appeared on the show in 1995. Will...